With the Globe’s union, Unifor’s Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild, backed with a 97% strike mandate, the byline strike came just hours before the collective agreement for editorial, advertising and circulation staff reached its Tuesday expiry date.

“Unionized editorial staff have exercised their right … to withhold their bylines,” reads a note from publisher Phillip Crawley in Monday’s edition, which was vacant of all bylines save for stories from wire services.

“We remain optimistic that we will achieve a fair and negotiated collective agreement in the near future.”

Earlier this month, unionized employees voted overwhelmingly to reject an offer from management, the paper’s Ottawa-based energy reporter Shawn McCarthy said in an interview Monday, speaking on behalf of the union.

The union received another offer and has plans to vote on it Wednesday afternoon, though the bargaining committee has already recommended members reject it.

The current collective agreement from 2009 expires on Tuesday, but Mr. McCarthy said unionized employees will work without a contract “at least” until the Wednesday vote.

One of the major points of contention at the bargaining table is a proposal to require certain newsroom staff to work on custom content paid for and approved by advertisers, Mr. McCarthy said.

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In the event of a strike, however, the Globe will continue to publish in print newspaper and online, vice president Sean Humphrey said via email.

Unionized employees at the Toronto Star refused to use their bylines in an edition last month and historically, both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal have seen similar strikes.

“We like to think that people do look at bylines, but more broadly it was an effort to make a statement,” Mr. McCarthy said of the Globe byline strike, which spanned for 24 hours from Sunday until 12 p.m. Monday in the print and online editions.

“Obviously it’s not going to bring the company to its knees.”

Could be the last day for a regular Globe and Mail for a while, they need a deal today. http://t.co/WL4v05FzdO